Jersey, officially known as the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an island country and self-governing British Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the largest of the Channel Islands and is 14 miles (23 km) from the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy. The Bailiwick consists of the main island of Jersey and some surrounding uninhabited islands and rocks including Les Dirouilles, Les Écréhous, Les Minquiers, and Les Pierres de Lecq.
Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands, an island archipelago in the St. Malo bight in the western English Channel. It has a total area of 120 square kilometres (46 sq mi) and is part of the British Isles archipelago. It lies 22 kilometres from the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy, France and about 161 kilometres from the south coast of Great Britain. Jersey lies within longitude -2° W and latitude 49° N.
The economy of Jersey is a highly developed social market economy. It is largely driven by international financial services and legal services, which accounted for 39.5% of total GVA in 2019, a 4% increase on 2018. Jersey is considered to be an offshore financial centre. Jersey has the preconditions to be a microstate, but it is a self-governing Crown dependency of the UK. It is considered to be a corporate tax haven by many organisations.
Transport in Jersey is primarily through the motor vehicle. The island, which is the largest of the Channel Islands has 124,737 registered vehicles (2016). The island is committed to combatting climate change, having declared a climate emergency, and policy is focused on reducing dependence on the car. The island has a cycle network and bus service. The primary modes of transport for leaving the island are by air or sea.
Scotland is a well-developed tourist destination, with tourism generally being responsible for sustaining 200,000 jobs mainly in the service sector, with tourist spending averaging at £4bn per year. In 2013, for example, UK visitors made 18.5 million visits to Scotland, staying 64.5 million nights and spending £3.7bn. In contrast, overseas residents made 1.58 million visits to Scotland, staying 15 million nights and spending £806m. In terms of overseas visitors, those from the United States made up 24% of visits to Scotland, with the United States being the largest source of overseas visitors, and Germany (9%), France (8%), Canada (7%) and Australia (6%), following behind.
St Helier is the capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – and is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey. The town of St Helier is the largest settlement and only town of Jersey. The town consists of the built-up areas of St Helier, including First Tower, and parts of the parishes of St Saviour and St Clement, with further suburbs in surrounding parishes. The greater part of St Helier is rural.
The Jersey Battle of Flowers is an annual carnival held in the Channel Island of Jersey on the second Friday and Saturday of August. The festival consists of music, funfairs, dancers, majorettes and a parade of flower floats alongside various street entertainers. It was inaugurated in 1902 to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The largest attendance to date is thought to be that of 1969 when 60,000 people were present. Current spectator numbers are around 20,000.
St Brelade is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is around 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of St Helier. Its population was 11,012 as of 2021.
St Saviour is a parish of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is located directly east of St Helier. It has a population of 13,580. It has a land surface area of 3.6 square miles and has a very small coastline at Le Dicq.
St Martin is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) north-east of St Helier. It has a population of 3,948. The parish covers 10.3 km2 (4.0 sq mi).
The Jersey Railway was opened in 1870 and was originally a standard gauge railway, 3+3⁄4 miles (6.0 km) long, in Jersey in the Channel Islands. Converted to narrow gauge in 1884 and extended giving a length of 7+3⁄4 miles (12.5 km), the line closed in 1936.
SandpiperCI is a retail and food and beverage operator based in the Channel Islands. It mostly operates franchises of British chain stores, such as Marks & Spencer, Iceland, Morrisons, Costa Coffee, Burger King and Matalan, in British Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. It also operates own-brand Checkers stores in Jersey and Guernsey and an Apple retailer called iQ.
In its own right Jersey participates in the Commonwealth Games and in the bi-annual Island Games, which it last hosted in 2015. Jersey is a founder member of the Island Games Association and has participated in every Games since the first in 1985. Jersey first competed in 1958 in the British Empire and Commonwealth Games and has since participated in every staging of what became the Commonwealth Games. Youth sports participation includes the Commonwealth Youth Games and Jeux des Isles.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Jersey:
Hohlgangsanlage are a number of tunnels constructed in Jersey by occupying German forces during the occupation of Jersey. The Germans intended these bunkers to protect troops and equipment from aerial bombing and to act as fortifications in their own right.
Montfort Tadier is a Jersey politician, and a member of the States of Jersey.
The BarclaysJersey Boat Show is the largest maritime event, as well as the largest free event held in the Channel Islands, and is organised by Ports of Jersey. The first event was held in May 2008, with the 2017 edition celebrating the shows 10th anniversary. The 13th Barclays Jersey Boat Show was scheduled to take place on the Spring Bank Holiday weekend from Saturday 4 to Monday 6 May 2020 but was canceled, together with the 2021 edition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Jersey. The show takes place in and around St Helier Marina and the waterfront of St Helier in Jersey.
Liberation Day is the national day of both Guernsey and Jersey, the two largest of the Channel Islands, which takes place on 9 May each year. It commemorates the liberation of the Channel Islands on 9 May 1945, which marked the end of the islands' occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II. It falls on the same day as the European Union's Europe Day, which celebrates post-World War II peace and European unity. 9 May is a public holiday in both islands and each has different celebrations and commemorative events; the centrepiece of Jersey's is the Liberation Day re-enactment in the Liberation Square, while Guernsey's is an islandwide cavalcade of classic vehicles.
Lyndon John Farnham is a Jersey politician who has served as the Chief Minister of Jersey since January 2024. He formerly served as the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport, and Culture. He has been a Deputy for St Mary, St Ouen & St Peter since 2022, having previously served as a Deputy for St Saviour and later a Senator. He is a business consultant and a company director.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Bailiwick of Jersey was part of a global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first case in Jersey was confirmed on 10 March 2020 when a person tested positive on the island after returning from Italy.
